I apologize, internet issues
Quinn had taken a few bites of the sandwich and that was it, Santana wanted her to eat more, drink more or even just power down but she knew the last one wasn't going to happen, Hercules had been driven crazy but Quinn was going to burn herself out. If it wasn't for it being a forced state of hyper awareness Santana knew Quinn would have already powered down on her own. Arms crossed against her chest Santana stared out the bay window that was in their living room "It was when she touched Quinn's sword." Santana wasn't really talking to Brittany but just out loud, saying it aloud meant she figured out how Lyssa did it and since she had no idea how to stop it she was relying on someone else.
"I'm sorry this is happening to Quinn." Brittany said softly.
Rubbing her eyes Santana shook her head quietly saying "If it is Calliope, this one's on me, it's me she hates..." Santana snorted "they all do, except Quinn and Matt." Brittany heard the heartbreak.
"San.."
"I'm the bastard daughter, they accept the others because they're Greek. And then there's me." Santana gestured to herself "I don't fit in with either set, not full Mayan and not full Greek."
"That doesn't matter to those of us who love you Santana." Brittany shook her head getting up, walking over to Santana she wrapped around her murmuring "And you fit in perfectly here." Brittany rested her head on Santana's shoulder "I promise B'sst can fix this, she'll be okay."
"Her life was perfect before I showed up. Her brothers adored her, spoiled her and then she brought me home." Santana said quietly.
"Come away from the window." Quinn said softly.
"She's so tired." Santana murmured before pulling away from Brittany, taking Brittany's hand she lead her to the over sized chair they'd shared the first time Brittany had come over. "We'll sit right here." Santana promised Quinn.
Brittany sat down first pulling Santana on her lap, it made Quinn relax a little, Santana could see the tension slightly drain from Quinn with the slight slouch of her shoulders. Handing Santana the thick novel from the table Brittany silently asked her to read, Santana knew she meant out loud. Pulling the blanket over both of them Santana relaxed into Brittany sighing she could see Quinn over the top of the book slowly pacing the living room, it was going to be a long few days. Taking out her book mark Santana sat it on the table, it was a photo of Quinn sleeping in her office after a long search for someone's soul mate, she hadn't gone to her own office but she'd come to Santana so they could celebrate and she'd fallen asleep. Santana had covered her with a blanket and snapped a photo, Quinn could sleep anywhere and Santana had the pictures to prove it.
Opening the book Santana found the first page and started reading, it didn't matter that she'd already been 3/4 of the way through the book she was starting it over for Quinn and Brittany.
Santana wasn't paying attention to the time she just sat reading, occasionally checking on both her blondes as she did so, Brittany was awake with her head resting on Santana's shoulder, she was watching Quinn as she paced and randomly checked the window and door. Her only way to tell how long she'd been reading was the fact that she had finished the first two books and was tucking the bookmark back into the second one, another photo of Quinn sleeping. Santana had called the rest of the series to be waiting on the table so it was easy to pick up the third book and start it, the third book mark was actually her and Quinn both sleeping in their living room cuddled together, Matt had taken it.
Hearing her phone ping Santana looked at it, it was her mother, Mom to Santana: I'm outside with a bag of clothes for Brittany.
"Quinn my mom's outside with clothes for Brittany, I need to get the door." Quinn scowled as Santana stood "It's just Mom, you can come with me." Santana gestured to the door, Quinn cut her off, peaking out the peak hole she nodded opening the door.
"Hello Quinn." Maribel smiled. "Since Brittany will be staying with you I bought her a few things to wear." Maribel held up four different bags.
"Thank you." Brittany said from behind the girls.
Quinn nodded taking the bags, looking in them she handed them to Brittany.
"Thank you, good night Mom." Santana said closing the door.
Three days of reading, pacing and nerves were starting to catch up with them, Quinn hadn't slept so neither had Santana, Brittany was part Titan and didn't quite have their stamina so she, at the moment, was curled up in the oversized chair cuddled with Santana's body pillow "She'll take good care of you." Quinn promised.
"I know..."
"You'll take good care of her too." Quinn murmured. "I know you worry."
"Right now I worry about you sister," Santana rubbed Quinn's armor clad shoulder "you're burning up."
"I can't protect you any other way." Quinn shook her head.
"Yes you can honey." Santana promised taking Quinn's hand "Just be by my side, we can take care of it together." the knock on the door brought a growl to Quinn's lips only relaxing when she heard Maribel's voice.
"Girls it's me, it's ready, B'sst told me what I need to do." Knowing Quinn wouldn't let her anywhere near the door Santana made the motions to unlocked the door, which it did, letting her mother inside, Quinn's hand rested on her sword, the moment Maribel stepped in Quinn raised her hand slamming and locking the door behind the Mayan goddess. Maribel nodded at Quinn heading for the kitchen "Not long Santana."
"Okay Mami." Santana eyed the couch, if Quinn was going to power down she was going to collapse and she wanted to be ready. Grabbing the coffee table Santana tugged it across the room, the couch folded out into a bed, Brittany shrugged the covers off joining her at the table, she had no idea why Santana was moving the table but she was moving it. "Mami's here, I'm not sure what's going to happen next." Santana admitted. Eyebrow arched Quinn watched the duo go from moving the table to opening the couch, "You have a better chance of getting the blankets from the closet than I do." Nodding Brittany left the room but remained in Quinn's sight.
"Red and black, light blue and green, dark blue, pink?...it's not the pink ones right?" Brittany called, not waiting she grabbed the last set bringing it all to Santana. "It was the only one with pillows." Brittany held up the three pillows in one hand and the sheets and comforter in the other. It was a purple set, every bed had their own colors and that included the couch. Quinn watched the kitchen as the duo put the fresh sheets on the pull out, Maribel had a mortar and pestle out on the counter and was crushing something.
"What are you doing?" Quinn stepped closer.
"You have been cursed honey, this" Maribel gestured to the now fine pale powder she was scraping onto a small plate using her hand to get everything out of the stone bowl "is step one in removing that curse." Maribel rubbed her hands together.
Quinn frowned "This isn't a curse, this is me, it's the only way I can keep Santana safe."
Stepping closer Maribel hesitated as Quinn took a half step back, holding her hands up Maribel slowly continued to Quinn, Quinn stopped, finishing the sheets Santana slowly walked to Quinn and her mother leaving Brittany to place the pillows. "This will keep both you and Santana safe." Maribel promised cupping Quinn's face with both hands, Santana listened as her mother chanted in an unfamiliar language, Brittany tilted her head quickly joining them.
Black eyes wide Quinn grabbed Maribel's wrists, the Mayan goddess held tight as Quinn growled then blinked a few times before collapsing almost to the floor. "Yep. cursed." Santana grunted catching her armor clad sister with Brittany's help. "Shit she's heavy." Reaching out Maribel took Quinn's hand deactivating the armor "Okay that helped." Santana and Brittany straightened up each with one of Quinn's arms over their shoulders and each with an arm around Quinn's waist. Maribel headed back into the kitchen as the duo dragged Quinn onto the bed, Brittany on one side and Santana on the other. "So what was that?"
"Something to knock her out so we could give her the actual cure." Maribel said quickly washing and drying her hands.
"Why didn't it knock you out?" Santana asked tugging Quinn to the middle of the pull out bed.
"Because it was made specifically for Quinn." Maribel said washing the rest of the fine powder down the kitchen sink. "Don't touch her face, you share a father." Maribel warned.
"The hair thing?" Santana asked seeing a fine powder on Quinn's cheeks.
Maribel nodded grabbing a smaller stone bowl with a different ground up powder, pulling a small corked vial of liquid from her pocket Maribel measured out the powder adding it to the liquid. Corking it she shook it while digging out the medicine dropper she'd picked up from the pharmacy. Getting a paper towel she got it wet and soapy, giving it a slight wring she carried it and the vial and dropper to the living room, "You are exhausted mija, you need to sleep too." Maribel said sitting next to Santana and wiping the powder from Quinn's face and hand Maribel checked that she got it all before tossing the paper towel.
"I know." Santana nodded.
Pulling off Quinn's shoes Brittany tucked them by the book shelf waiting for Maribel to tell her what to do, Santana tilted Quinn's head so Maribel could administer the medicine, Quinn grunted and tried to turn her head but Santana held her in place while Maribel finished giving her everything in the vial. "She's powering down." Brittany said in amazement.
"Yes she is." Maribel nodded. "B'sst was able to get Lyssa to tell us who sent her and then 'persuaded' the muse to call off any further attempts with a little help from your father," she glanced at Santana then Brittany "your mother and the goddess Themis."
"I'm sorry what?" Santana blinked yawning.
"We'll tell you the whole story later, right now you crawl into bed and sleep." Maribel promised, leaning forward she kissed Quinn's forehead and then Santana's. Yawning again Santana scooted down in the bed until she was laying even with Quinn, she hadn't burned power like Quinn but she had still stayed awake for the entire time with her. Draping her arm over Quinn's waist Santana barely noticed Brittany pulling the comforter up over them. Arm draped over Quinn's waist she rested her head on the Quinn's shoulder, leaning Brittany kissed Santana's temple. Maribel waited gesturing to Brittany when she finished tucking the girls in, shuffling quietly over to the older goddess Brittany waited. "Well this was not how I wanted to meet my daughter's soul mate," Maribel admitted "but it has been nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too." Brittany said softly.
"I see you being very good for them, the fact that they have let you in speaks volumes of how much they already care for you." Maribel glanced behind Brittany at the sleeping duo. "For you to accept them as they are, so bonded with one another and not be threatened speaks volumes about you."
"My soul mate is Santana but I feel a closeness with Quinn too," a pensive look on her face Brittany quietly said "I think they are twin flames, one soul split between two bodies, they complete each other in a way Santana and I can't." Brittany glanced back at the now completely cuddled duo, Quinn's arms wrapped protectively around Santana. "My mother doesn't understand."
"She is not a love goddess, she is simply a muse set to inspire the mortals as are the other muses."
"But I'm a muse." Brittany said confused. "I am my mother's daughter..."
"Blessed by B'sst, Horus and a pantheon of Egyptian gods when you were young," Maribel had talked to B'sst about Brittany "you are not your mother. You are special, you understand many things much older immortals have not realized and do not care to know." reaching up Maribel cupped Brittany's cheek "I say you are a blessing to my daughters and look forward to seeing you in happier times."
"Thank you." Brittany blushed.
"BretaƱa." Quinn mumbled.
"Go on, I'll lock up." Maribel nodded to the girls shooing Brittany away.
